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The Midnight Garden
"Give me your tired, your poor... You certainly don't deserve them." They're the people you overlook, the guys you see and then forget a moment later. He may've knicked some change out of your pocket, or perhaps successfully fooled you into giving up a small amount of cash, he was just another hobo, you thought. Well, the reality is, they're networked like you wouldn't know. And this isn't a fake story about the hoboglyphs and how they communicate. They're actually a vast network of the downtrodden and unfortunate, the Midnight Garden. The story started off with a long string of homeless disappearances, no one paid attention but one woman did. A beat cop just starting off her career-- Then she threw it away, because she saw something more important. She was a changeling, a damn smart one too. And these hoboes weren't being taken off the streets by the government, no, they were being taken by something much worse... A True Fae known as Boundless, seeking to build up an army of these poor, unfortunate souls. Our heroine wouldn't have it, though. She went through a thousand hoops, fought a dozen huntsmen and came out on top, led a rebellion alongside the hoboes and when she got them all out, she established the Midnight Garden Refuge... Where she started her Court. The hoboes and staff of the Midnight Garden are all changelings, it's the one place where just about any fae creature can come and find himself a nice goblin fruit stew to calm the mind and heal the wounds. Much to the chagrin of their allies, the Midnight Garden maintains an all-acceptance policy, even allowing Huntsmen within their walls. Despite this, people know better than to start trouble. The Midnight Garden prides on its ability to gather information and put intricate plans into effect. They're the intelligence agency of the Wyoming Freehold, their network expanding throughout the entirety of Wyoming. Approaches Hoboglyphs The Midnight Garden uses a complex system of symbols and icons to inform their agents of imminent danger both within the Hedge and in the real world. Whenever a Huntsman figures out the system, he gains a point of Yearning and gains a new point of Yearning every time he can track down a Midnight Garden Safehouse. Dead-Drop or Stash. Home Owned Without the homeless, the Midnight Garden loses power. A particularly intelligent Huntsman could attack their greatest and most pervasive source of information. Whenever the Huntsman denies or outright removes the Midnight Garden's Allies or Contacts, he gains a point of Yearning. Together Alone The Midnight Garden has taken on the emotion of loneliness, they often operate in a lonesome manner and if the Huntsman successfully seduces or keeps a courtier company, he gains a point of Yearning. Rituals Homeless Market A meeting, normally far away from the prying eyes of society and the law, wherein hoboes and allies of the Midnight Garden can sell literally anything. It happens once every three months on the first monday of the fourth month and only lasts a single hour-- Right before sunrise, it ends as soon as the sun peeks over the horizon. Just about anything can be found in the Homeless Market, from firearms to swords to strange goblin fruit and supernatural services from goblins. Bum Fights As a means of keeping themselves keen and able, every second saturday, the Midnight Garden meets with a group from the Daylight Brotherhood and engages in a small, hand-to-hand brawl. These bum fights have been broken up by the police before, resulting in a broken bulwark. For this reason, many courtiers are discussing the possibility of replacing this ritual. Cryptomelessness At the last day of every month, the Hoboglyph dictionary is completely shifted. Any points of yearning earned by Huntsmen during the last month are lost and they must start the process of figuring out the Hoboglyph system from ground zero. The Hundred League Walk The Hundred League Walk is the grandest and most important of the Midnight Garden's rituals. It is a test of endurance for all courtiers who wish to undertake. No one is forced to compete, but the Bulwark becomes stronger the more courtier participate. The entire walk begins on the first of January and ends about a week later, at midnight. The Hundred League Walk has several rules... - Once the courtier begins, she cannot enter the Hedge unless she plans on continuing the Walk through it. This is much harder as the Hedge is constantly changing. - The Courtier can stop to sleep for six hours every day. - The Courtier can stop to rest and eat for an hour per day. - The Courtier can use any legal means to figure out the state-wide puzzle that is the Thousand League Walk. Courtiers are given a starting location and a general idea on which direction to head, however, after a certain point they must figure out the route themselves. They can do just about anything as long as it does not break the laws of the Wyoming Freehold. - The first courtier to arrive at the destination is crowned as the new Midnight King. Any others that arrive before the appointed end of the Walk are welcomed to partake in a feast hosted by the new monarch. All those who become lost are escorted here and must remain here until the end of the walk, those who arrive after the first can leave at will. Organization The Midnight Garden isn't organized at all. There's a leader, which is chosen during the Hundred League Walk, but otherwise they don't really have a structure. Information floats freely, they ask around whenever they need to and thats about it... The Midnight Garden works much like the internet, the information is just readily available for the man that knows to ask the right questions. Mantle • The Mantle manifests as tattered cloth around the courtier's mien. The Courtier gains one dot of Contacts(Homeless Network) •• Goblin Vow(Raccoons) ••• A courtier's mantle becomes to take on more aspects of the homeless, becoming dirtied and perhaps becoming covered in trash. The Changeling gains 9-Again on Streetwise rules. •••• Personal Approach ••••• The Courtier's mantle begins to overcome her mien, her body is covered dirt and grime, she smells terrible to anyone in her vicinity(while her mien is visible.). Her service to the Midnight Garden has earned her a trustworthy ally. The Changeling gains a three-dot Retainer. Crown: Once per session, the Midnight Monarch can choose to gain the Informed condition regarding any subject that could believably be known by the Midnight Garden's network.